Bake, create & celebrate! DIY dessert baking kits.

Baking Great Shortbread

You’ve ordered this month’s SoBakeable Baking Box & it’s being packed, soon to be on its way to you! In the meantime, take advantage of how inspired you are & bake something! Perhaps you don’t feel that you have enough ingredients to make something truly special – butter, sugar & flour. How about melt-in-your-mouth, buttery shortbread cookies? Here are some tips to help you make your shortbread great!

ButterMake sure your butter is room temperature. Using cold & hard butter will lead to overworking your dough. This means that your shortbread won’t have that tender texture you were hoping for.

SugarDepending on your recipe, you might choose to use different types of sugar. Icing sugar will give your shortbread a softer texture & more of that stick to your mouth feel. Caster sugar will give your shortbread more of a crunch. Brown sugar will give your shortbread a darker golden color & slight caramel flavor.

FlourIn most cases, shortbread recipes will call for all-purpose flour, but both cornflour & rice flour can be added. Like caster sugar, rice flour will give your shortbread more of a crunchy texture, while cornflour gives your shortbread a softer feel. Either way, be sure to sift your flour before mixing to help remove lumps & prevent you from overworking your dough.

Flavor combinationsYou can add almost any flavor additions to your shortbread. Vanilla is a favorite & might be something you have around, but you can go crazy with combinations like Vanilla Cardamom, Orange Cranberry & Lemon Lavender. We are particularly fond of using generous sprinklings of rose petal, or lavender-infused sugar…how fancy does that sound?

Making your shortbreadCream your butter & sugar well, then simply add in your flour & mix until a smooth dough forms. Be sure to wrap & refrigerate your dough before shaping or cutting it. This will make sure the butter is chilled & doesn’t melt as soon as it hits the oven, which would cause your shortbread to spread. Use a shortbread cutter to shape, or get creative & use a scalloped circle cutter, heart shape or square. Pricking your shortbread with a fork before baking will also help them keep their shape & prevent them from rising in the center while they bake.

The smell of shortbread baking in the oven can only be topped by the melt-in-your-mouth taste of it! Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee, you won’t be able to resist!